When Ice Melt
by simplycaramelle
Summary: Conan notices that the Ice Queen, Haibara Ai, is slowly taking off her cool facade. She's becoming more friendly and less cold than before. What - or who - could be the reason for this change? *THIS IS MY FIRST EVER FANFIC... PLEASE REVIEW!*
1. THE ICE QUEEN

Hi everyone.. Here is my first story.. I hope you like it! Enjoy reading..

-CHAPTER ONE-

My name is _Miyano Shiho_.

Codename: Sherry.

I was once a member of a certain syndicate called the _Black Organization_. My job was to continue the project that my parents left – APTX 4869 – a drug that should kill instantly without showing any trace of itself in the victim's body. You could say that I'm an important person in the organization. I did everything they wanted me to do even if it was against my will. But what do I get? _A dead sister_. The organization plotted to kill her. The reason? _No one cared to tell me_. All they did was to lock me up in some place. I decided to end my life then and there so that they couldn't use me for their evil deeds anymore. I took the _APTX 4869_ and prepared myself to see mom, dad and Akemi-chan in the other life, but who would've thought that I was one of the lucky ones to be only shrunk back into a child. I was aware of this effect, since I saw one out of the ten mice who was injected by the drug, shrinking instead of dying. I sought the help of Kudo Shinichi, a high school detective, since I was aware that he, too, was shrunk by the drug. He was forced to take it when he witnessed an illegal transaction made by the Black Organization. From then on, I assumed a new identity.

I am now _Haibara Ai_.

Codename: Ice Queen

Well, that was ages ago. The Black Organization was now permanently terminated with the help of Edogawa Conan, Kudo-kun's shrunken identity, and another high school detective, Hattori Heiji. But still, up until now, I am working on the antidote that will hopefully change us back to normal.

"Haibara-san! Over here." Mitsuhiko shouted. We were at Tropical Land, enjoying the last few days of vacation. As usual, Kudo-kun was looking as bored as ever while the other kids – Mitsuhiko, Ayumi and Genta – are clearly enjoying themselves. As soon as they saw me, they ran excitedly.

"So, what did the professor say?" Ayumi asked.

"Nothing in particular," I replied. "But he gave me this." I handed them a piece of paper with different symbols and words that made no sense at all. "It seems like a deduction quiz or something." I added.

By hearing the words deduction quiz, they all snatched the paper from me, almost tearing it.

"Okay, let's go!" Genta said. "I'm all ready to yank my brains on this one. It's been a while since the professor made a game for us. I wonder what the prize would be, maybe he'll treat us sushi or eel." Then we heard his stomach growl, indicating that he's hungry _again_.

"Genta-kun…" Mitsuhiko and Ayumi groaned.

"You guys go ahead, I'll pass." I said then took a seat on a nearby bench.

"I'll pass also." Conan said. "We'll meet you guys later."

"Okay." The trio said, then left.

I gave Kudo-kun a suspicious glare which he returned with an innocent smile.

"Don't give me that look. I know you want something. Spit it out." I said.

"Come on, Haibara. Can't you pretend at least once that I'm not an open book for you?" I gave him a bored look.

"Maybe some other time."

He sighed. "Anyway, I was thinking of moving back to my own house."

"Can't live another day with the drunk _'Sleeping Kogorou'_?" I teased.

"Hah! Try living with him. You'll see." He said with a disgusted look on his face. "I called Ran at the university earlier and informed her about my plan. She agreed. The thing is, I told her I would be staying at the professor's house so –"

"Alright. I'll inform you when she calls or something." I assured.

Conan sighed from relief. His attention turned to two kids, a boy and a girl, arguing about which ride to take. In the end, the boy agreed with the girl and just did what she wanted. He looked like he didn't have a choice anyway. I noticed that Conan was pretty amused by them. Maybe they reminded him of something?

"Hey, Kudo-kun." I called. He looked at me. "You still haven't moved on now, have you? I mean about Mouri-san finding another man."

He looked a bit shocked, mostly because I don't really ask this kind of question. I didn't think he was going to answer, but he did.

"Oh, I have. I'm happy that she's finally gotten over Shinichi." He noticed by suspicious gaze at him and laughed. "I'm serious."

"_Whatever_ you say, Kudo-kun," I got up and started walking. "_I believe you_." I added sarcastically.

He stood up. "I _was_ serious! And where are you going anyway? You can't just leave me here. That's rude."

"I'm buying groceries for dinner." I answered, ignoring his last remark.

"Aren't you gonna ask me if I wanted to help you?"

"Do you think I need your help?"

"Um.. Yes?"

"Wrong." I pointed at the three kids seriously analyzing the clue they were holding. "They need your help. Oh, before I forget –"

"I know. I know. I'm just gonna give hints." He said.

"I was gonna say, 'goodluck on figuring out the hint, edogawa-kun'." I grinned evilly and started on my way.

He was quite confused for a moment, then he finally realized.

"Oi, Haibara! Were you the one who made the quiz?" He shouted.

I ignored him and continued walking. _You need a bit of challenge, Kudo-kun…_ I thought. _I know being through child stuff all over again bore you to death._

-END OF CHAPTER 1-

Okay.. so how was it? Good? Bad? Needs Improvement? Please review! Thanks so much..


	2. THE CHALLENGE

Hey guys! Before anything else, THANK YOU FOR THE KIND REVIEWS! I'm so glad to hear that you liked the first chapter. I wasn't planning on elaborating Ai-chan's quiz but since some of you are curious about it, I really made an effort of making one. (I really hope it's not too lame…) In effect, this story will focus more on the AiCon tandem leaving Kaito to appear on the sequel (Yes, I'm planning to do a sequel so watch out for it!). I originally made this story for Ai and Kaito since I am a fan of both of them but *sniffs* they would have to wait.

Enough of this Author's note… Back to the story.

-CHAPTER TWO-

(Conan's POV)

I watched Haibara walk towards the exit without even answering my question. She's been acting very weird lately. The Haibara I met was aloof and quiet and always afraid. Now, she is – how would I put this? Carefree? No, that's not it exactly. Maybe _relaxed _is more appropriate. The only thing that didn't change is her cynical attitude and her taste for fashion.

"That Haibara is driving me nuts." I muttered to myself.

"I got it!" someone shouted.

I turned to the owner of the voice. It was Mitsuhiko. He was waving the paper to Genta's face as he frantically explained the whole thing. Weird. Was Haibara's hint _that _easy? Even the professor's quizzes confuse these kids. And we all know the professor makes lame quizzes. Too bad, I expected more from Haibara.

"I told you guys. That's really it!" He insisted.

Ayumi was reluctant. "I'm still not sure… What you've just explained make sense but…"

"Isn't it too easy?" Genta continued.

Mitsuhiko was thoughtful for a moment. "Now that you mention it, we couldn't even answer his past quizzes without Conan-kun's help."

Ayumi saw me approaching them and smiled. "How about we let Conan-kun solve the riddle and compare it with our answer? If Mitsuhiko-kun can answer it, there's no doubt he could also," she turned to me. "Conan-kun, can you help us answer the professor's quiz?"

"About that, the professor didn't make the quiz. Haibara did it herself." I informed them.

Their jaws dropped open. Slowly, their expression changed from confusion to excitement. "Really?" they said in chorus. "Haibara-san did?"

"Yeah, I'm sure of it.."

"Then that means…" Genta started.

"…finally…" Ayumi said, almost teary.

"…we answered a quiz without Conan-kun's help!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed triumphantly.

While they were busy congratulating themselves for their accomplishment, I took the hint from Mitsuhiko and studied it.

An hour had passed and I was still staring at it. I sat, expecting something would pop out of my mind like it used to.

Still nothing. Not a jolt or anything.

Ayumi, Genta and Mitsuhiko was staring at me. They are probably curious about my spaced-out look.

"Could it be that, Conan-kun can't solve the riddle?" Ayumi whispered.

Worry filled their faces. Then, moments later, they grinned. The same evil grin that Haibara gave me. _oi. oi.._

"O-of course I did. W-what made you think that?" I said.

"Lying is bad, Conan-kun! My mom told me not to lie because if I did-" Genta was abruptly stopped by my outburst.

"HOW CAN YOU FREAKING UNDERSTAND THIS? IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE AT ALL!"

They were silent for a moment.

"Do you want us to explain it to you, Conan-kun?" Ayumi asked.

"NO." i said.

"Conan-kun.."

After taking a final glance at the paper, "Okay.." I answered weakly.

(the challenge)

_What is essential is invisible to the eye_

**N **=When Others think Right before Doing Something

To add value.

Lucky

To make a road

Earth

You perfect a score got

When the seventh of the twelve buttons are pressed

W H

-END OF CHAPTER TWO-

Okay.. To tell you the truth, I personally wasn't satisfied with this chapter. Are you? What did you think about the _challenge? C_an you think of an answer? Review please! I want to hear your comments and suggestions for the following chapters.. Thanks for reading!


	3. IT'S THAT SIMPLE

Hey guys! Finally, school's out (for now) and I could freely update my story without worrying about school requirements first! Yay for me! :) I've made some slight changes in the past chapters.. especially on the challenge part.. I had to modify it a bit. Anyway, here's chapter three! The answer to the haibara's challenge!

-CHAPTER THREE-

(Mitsuhiko's POV)

"HOW CAN YOU FREAKING UNDERSTAND THIS? IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE AT ALL!" Conan shouted.

I was dumbfounded at Conan's outburst. I just couldn't believe that he can't understand the quiz. It's too easy. Everyone in our class will surely be able to answer it, especially after that lesson in Math. Wait. Maybe this has something to do with what Haibara said back then.

_(flashback)_

"_Ne, Haibara-san?" I said. She didn't look up from the book she was reading. "Haibara-san," I repeated._

_She finally noticed me and closed the book. "What is it, Mitsuhiko-kun?"_

_I wanted to return the chemistry book that I borrowed. Thank you for lending it to me," I said, a bit embarrassed for disturbing her. "Sorry for disturbing you."_

"_That's okay." She smiled. "Is that all?"_

"_Um.." I scratched my head while eyeing the book she was holding. "You seem enthralled with that.. Isn't that a Sherlock Holmes book?"_

"_Uh-huh. Edogawa-kun forced me to read it so I could '_realize how great Holmes is'..." _she said, making face at the last five words. She handed the book to me. A Study in Scarlet by Conan Doyle._

"_Is it good?" I asked while studying the book. "This book, I mean."_

"_I must admit it was pretty interesting," she said. "But not interesting enough for me to be obsessed with.." she added with a smirk._

_I gave the book back to her and sat down, hoping we could talk more. She never spoke to me with more than ten words so I might as well grab the opportunity._Maybe Ayumi-chan is right, _I thought._Haibara has changed.

_She opened the book again and flipped through the pages._

"_You never beat Edogawa-kun in the professor's quizzes, right?" she said, moments later._

"_Um.. Yeah," I nodded shyly. "We never get to beat him in any quizzes or riddles. He's like a genius or something. We've always wished we could beat him.. Even for at least once. It would be very rewarding if, for once, we would be the one explaining things to him. Sometimes, we envy you and Conan because you always act so mature and-" I realized I was ranting on and on so I stopped. Haibara just smiled._

"_Holmes said something pretty interesting in this book," she motioned to the one she was holding. She quickly scanned for that part and read it. "Aman's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose…It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones." she looked at me. "Maybe that's how it is with Edogawa-kun.."_

_(End of flashback)_

When I glanced back at Conan, he was still spaced out.

"Do you want us to explain it to you, Conan-kun?" Ayumi asked him, obviously worried.

"NO." he said firmly.

"Conan-kun.."

He glanced back at the paper and thought for a moment.

"Okay.." He finally said.

"Wait." I interrupted. "I have an idea. Why don't we just give clues to Conan-kun just like what he does to us? It wouldn't be fair if we'd just explain it outright." Ayumi and Genta nodded in approval. Conan seemed to like the idea and agreed.

"Okay," I said. "What have you figured out so far?"

"The capitalized letters on the 'When Others think Right before Doing Something' part, form 'WORDS'.. So I think we have to do _something_to the words listed below, which was probably what the **N** means. But I'm still stuck with that." He explained.

"So, you don't know what **N** means?" I asked.

He shook his head.

"Amazing.. Haibara-san was right," I thought outloud. The other three looked at me, obviously confused. "The other day, Haibara told me about how our brain works like an empty attic and-"

"Holmes said something like that," Conan interrupted. He put his hands on his chin in a thinking manner. "It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones." he quoted.

"I don't get what it means," Genta said, scratching his head.

"To sum it up, it means we should _unlearn_the things that are not useful to us. For example, Holmes didn't know that the earth revolve around the sun – a concept even a pre-schooler would know – because that knowledge won't be of use to him as a detective." Conan explained. His face lit up. I could see he already realized why he couldn't solve the quiz.

"Unlearn? As in, forget?" Ayumi asked. He nodded.

"Okay, guys. I admit defeat. I really don't recall what that **N** means.. I need _your_ help on this one." Conan said.

Conan saying that he needed our help was no big deal. He always asks favors from us. But admitting defeat was a different matter. We really felt triumphant that time.

Beaming with pride, Genta told him, "Tsubaraya-sensei taught us about **N**. She said, it is a sign for _natural numbers._"

"Natural numbers are the ones we use for counting, like one two and three. Therefore, they are also called _counting numbers,_" Ayumi added.

"Therefore, the '**N**= When Others think Right before Doing Something' part means 'count the words'.. the equals sign only tells us that **N** is related to Math." I finished.

Conan studied the hint once more. "The words are divided to seven groups.. this might mean that.." he was muttering to himself as we watched him with amusement. "three… one… four… one… five… nine… two…" He took his pen and wrote the numbers.

_3141592_

"This looks familiar… wait. Why is there a period after _value_? Maybe.." He wrote a dot beside the number 3.

_3.141592_

"3.14.. Pi.. Pie?"

-END OF CHAPTER THREE-

Whoa. That was kinda nerdy.. and that flashback was quite long. Hmmmm. What do you think? Please review! I mighta sorta kinda have a writer's block at the moment (if there's such a thing..) and I need your review for suggestions and motivations! Love you guys. :)


	4. ANOTHER CHALLENGE?

I just realized that my riddle was mostly related to math.. ha ha ha. Gome, the idea struck me during our class in math, so there. My professor kept telling us that we should know the first six digits of Pi. Huh. Memorize it for what? I just don't understand my professors sometimes. Hmpf. Well, at least I've used that number into something creative. (yay!) Anyway, here's chapter four! It's sort of long (for me) but I hope you won't get bored. Enjoy!

-CHAPTER FOUR-

(Conan's POV)

"EGG PIE!" Genta, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi cheered. "Itadakemasu!"

It turned out that the hint was referring to SweetPies, a newly built shop just a stone's throw away at hakase's house. The shop became a hit right away, mainly because their pies are delicious and very affordable. Even Haibara liked it. In fact, she hangs out at this place thrice a week.

Speaking of which, where is she? I figured she would be waiting for us here, ready to tease me for losing to the detective boys. But, when we entered the shop, only the waitress was there to welcome us.

"_Ai-chan left suddenly after talking to someone on the phone," she said. "But don't worry.. She said you can order as much as you want and she'll take care of it."_

"_Does that mean she'll be back?" I asked._

"_Not really.. She could always pay tomorrow, when she comes for her usual snack. Oh, before I forget," the waitress (I found out later that her name was Usagi) took something from behind the counter and handed it to me. It was a cassette tape player. "Ai-chan left this on her table earlier, would you mind returning it for me?"_

I took the player from my pocket and studied it in my hands. _She was listening to it again, _I thought. _She might be missing her mother. _ I took the tape out. The label says 20.

"The last tape?" I said to myself.

"Did you say something, Conan-kun?" Ayumi asked.

I shook my head and motioned for her to ignore it. She looked at me strangely then continued talking to the other boys.

Wait. If I recall correctly, she told me she would listen to this last tape on her birthday. Her real birthday, that is. Could it be-

"What date is it?" I asked the three who was now busy talking about Kamen Yaiba. Geez, they've grown two years older but they still watch that show.

"October 28," Genta said then took yet another bite on his pie.

"Darn," I muttered. Why do I always forget birthdays? "Guys, I gotta go. I'll just see you tomorrow!" I left before they could even react. I didn't want them to ask questions.

On my way to hakase's house, I passed by a fashion boutique. A peach dress was on display along with a pink wool scarf. The scarf reminded me of Haibara's favorite wool jacket that she almost always wears. Lost in thought, I found myself going inside to buy it as a gift for her. I didn't know what has gotten into me, doing a bizarre thing like that but I just had a crazy feeling that I should give something to her.

I went straight to the house after stopping by at the store.

"Agasa-Hakase?" I called out as I entered. I found him lying on the couch, watching some television show I don't know about and eating cookies.

"Hey, Kudo-kun. What brought you here?" he asked.

"Nothing. Where's Haibara?" I eyed the cookies he was holding. "And why are you eating that? She'll surely get mad."

"She let me eat these, well, just for today. Maybe it's her birthday treat for me." He grinned, obviously enjoying the treat.

"She did?" I wondered.

"Yeah.. Surprised me too," He noticed the paper bag I was holding but didn't say a thing. "She's at the basement again, if you wanted to talk to her."

I thanked him and went downstairs. I knocked on the door twice but no one answered. I knocked again. Still nothing. _Maybe she's already asleep_, I thought. I opened the door quietly._ I'll just leave this on her desk. _

It was dark inside; only a dim light illuminated the room. I think it's the computer. Haibara never forgets to turn off the computer so she's probably awake. Maybe she just didn't hear me knock. I slowly went inside. Yep. She's awake alright. Haibara was in front of the computer like always, typing rapidly. _She's working again?_

"It's rude to barge in someone's room, Kudo-kun.. The door is there for a reason." she said, still facing the computer. Startled, I backed up a few steps.

"Gome, I knocked but.." I sighed. "Anyway, I just wanted to –"

She held her finger up to silence me. "Upstairs. I'll just finish this and I'll follow you there." she said then resumed on typing again. I decided not to argue and went back up.

A few minutes passed before Haibara finally showed up.

I couldn't help but stare at her. Yes, she's still in her lab coat, looking simple as ever but… something in her aura has change. She looked… glowing. Not in a literal sense, she just looked happier and satisfied to me. I wonder what happened downstairs.

She went straight to the kitchen, probably to get something to eat. I followed her.

"You left this at the shop," I started. She looked at the cassette tape player in my hands and quickly snatched it. "I came to return it and -"

"Don't tell me you listened to this," she warned.

"No! Of course I didn't," I said defensively. "You know I won't."

"Good." she looked at me. "And what?"

"And… I brought you a gift," I gave her the paper bag I was holding on my other hand.

"What is this for?" she eyed me suspiciously. "You want something from me, don't you?"

"Geez, it's not like that.. I just happened to pass by this store and decided to buy you something for your birthday…"

"You remembered my birthday?"

"Well, sort of… H-happy Birthday, Miyano…"

"That's so sweet of you, Kudo-kun.." she smiled sweetly and looked directly in my eyes. "You just made me fall for you even more…"

"H-haibara!" I exclaimed, blushing in all shades of red.

She laughed. "Just kidding, Kudo…" she took out the scarf and tried it on. "I like it. Thank you…"

I sighed. _Why do I always fall for that trick? _"Don't mention it…"

She put the scarf back on the paper bag. "Do you still have the quiz?"

"Yeah," I took it from my pocket. "Genta said I should hold on to this to always remind me that _I once lost to the detective boys_."

She grinned. "So their wish had finally come true,"

"Yeah. They had a pretty good godmother," I remarked. "I'm just curious. Why are you doing all these? You made a quiz so the kids could finally beat me, treated us food…"

I glanced at the professor in the living room, still enjoying his cookies. "and you even let Hakase eat that despite his diet.." I looked at her. "Why?"

She just smiled mysteriously. "That's for you to find out, Tantei-san…"

-END OF CHAPTER FOUR-

Was Ai-chan's birthday ever mentioned in the manga/anime? I don't recall that they did so I just invented one.. It would be really awesome if I knew Ai-chan's birthday, I might celebrate it for her. (Ha ha.. too creepy? I just such a huge fan!)

Watch out for the next chapter! I hope you're excited about it as much as I do… Ja ne!


	5. HIDDEN MESSAGE

Hey guys! How are things? Sorry for the late update.. (it's been over a month) I had too many tasks from school that I almost forgot about writing/continuing this story.. I do hope you're still interested.. Thank you **ninada, enji86 and conan4wardstone **for reviewing! Means a LOT! Okay.. so for the sake of me updating this story.. here's another crammed chapter. Pretty short, but sweet. (i hope) Please enjoy!

P.S. Thank you **conan4wardstone** for pointing out my error. I sort of dropped the 2 in 3.1415926..

-CHAPTER FIVE-

"It's for you to find out…" she repeated quietly. Suddenly her cheerful aura from earlier vanished.

"Are you okay Haibara?" I asked, concerned.

She smiled. "I'm okay. I just felt sleepy all of a sudden. I think I have to call it a day," She headed back to her room. "Oh, by the way.. I would keep that note if I were you." She pointed at the quiz I was still holding.

I looked at her confusedly. "Something might pop out of that brilliant mind of yours." She added.

"Hai-"

"Lights out. Goodnight, Kudo-kun. Thanks for the gift." With that, she left. I stood there bewildered.

A few moments later, I was staring blankly at the wall on the other side of Ojii-san's office. It was late, but I found it hard to sleep. Haibara just kept messing my mind. I don't know why, but lately, I've been thinking about her every time. At first it was because of her change in attitude but now.. I'm not really sure that's the only reason. I shook the thought.

Ojii-san was busy watching yet another Yokino-san video. "Oohhh! You are the best Yoko-chan!" he sang then took a gulp at his canned beer.

"Hey kid! Go get me another beer!"

"Hai." I said lazily. Slowly, I took a can from the fridge and gave it to him. He didn't say thank you.

"Conan! Stop littering inside the house!" he shouted as he pointed the piece of paper lying on the floor. _Look who's talking, _I thought as I scanned his desk full of beer cans. _Patience, Shinichi. Just one more night and you're out of here._

I looked at where he is pointing and found a piece of paper. It was the quiz from earlier. Maybe it fell down from my pocket while I was getting the beer. As I bent to pick it up, I remembered something.

_I would keep the note if I were you, _Haibara's voice echoed through my head. _Something might pop out of that brilliant mind of yours.._

Does that mean there's more to the quiz than just that? Why else would something come out from my "brilliant mind?"

_Lights out._

_What is essential is invisible to the eye._

Could it be-

I picked up the paper and quickly went to my room. If my deduction is right..

Click!

Darkness engulfed the whole room when I turned off the lights. But there's a little illumination from somewhere. I looked down on the note I was holding.

"Haibara never ceases to amaze me." I mused.

The source of that illumination was in my hands. On the note were some glowing words.. probably a hidden clue meant for me to solve.

_What is essential is invisible to the eye_

N =When Others think Right before Doing Something

To add value. **to a pear**

Lucky **#**

To make a road **wider**

Earth**'s core**

**1 4 3 5 2**

You perfect a score got

When the seventh of the twelve buttons are pressed **thrice**

W H **?**

Note: the bolded words/letters were glowing in the dark.

-END OF CHAPTER FIVE-

How was it? Can you answer this one? I hope you could, those are just a bunch of riddles I got from the internet.. (haha) PM me the answer.. I'll give a prize to those who gets it right. Hahahaha. Kidding. I don't know what to give you. Love, maybe? xD but kidding aside.. PM me if you figured out the answer. (Clue: one word)

**GUYS. PLEASE REVIEW AND GIVE ME INSPIRATION! THANK YOU AND I LOVE YOU MUCH. xoxo Elle.**


	6. RIDDLES AND LETTERS

Hey everyone! It's been a while. Here's a short chapter about the answer to the challenge. Did you have the same answer? Anyway.. this story is about to end in about one or two chapters, and I'm getting really anxious for it. I suck at endings. I'm not sure if this would turn out well. PLEASE INSPIRE ME BY REVIEWING! Enjoy!

-CHAPTER SIX-

Not to brag, but I'm really good at riddles. The quiz made more sense now after seeing the other "hidden clues", so figuring out the answer should be a piece of cake.

I took out a pen and paper from my desk drawer and started scribbling.

_To add value to a pear._

How could you add value to a pear? _Pear. _I wrote the word down in capital letters. I probably have to add something in it for it to have value. _Pear. Pear. Pear._

That's it!

I wrote a small straight line beside it. _Pearl._ I should've known it would be this simple. Just add the letter _L_ to form _pearl_ which is a valuable thing than _pear_.

Wait. If the answer to the first riddle is a letter, surely the other riddles refer to a letter, too. This means a word should be formed. I smiled. This should be interesting.

Next riddle: _Lucky #. _Didn't they say the lucky number was 9? But the answer should be a letter. _I _is the ninth letter of the alphabet so that has to be it.

_To make a road wider. _Easy. It's just like the first one. _Road. Broad. _The answer is B.

_Earth's core. _Core? I know the earth's core is the hottest part of the planet, but I don't think that has something to do with letters. Wait. What if it wasn't talking about the literal core of the earth? Core could also mean center or middle. _Middle of earth_. It's R!

I answered the next riddles almost immediately. The fourth riddle's words were disarranged, so if you use the numbers written above, the phrase "y_ou got a perfect score_" will be formed. _Perfect_, when translated to letter is A. In the fifth riddle, I figured the twelve buttons refer to a mobile phone keypad. If you press 7 thrice, the letter that comes out is R.

Finally, _W H ?. _This part was a bit tricky. Only after some thoughts, I figured that "W H ?" means WH-questions: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How. Only _why_ has some connection to letters because it sounds like Y. The last letter should be Y.

I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face after answering. Weirdly enough, I actually enjoyed the quiz even though it was just simple. This really helped boost my mood. I was feeling kind of bored recently. Not much complicated cases were happening so I hadn't had much to think about. _I should thank Haibara. _She's been really nice to everyone these past few days. It was as if something is going to happen. Come to think of it, I've been having this strange feeling…

Nah. Maybe she was just making up for all those cynicism from before.

I distracted myself with the paper before me. The seven letters I got from the riddles was written at the center. Just as I thought, they did form a word.

_**L I B R A R Y**_

Meaning my goal is to go into a library. At first I thought of the library at school, but then I remembered it was close until the end of vacation. There is only one other library that I could think of that Haibara could possibly go to.

The library in my house.

-END OF CHAPTER FIVE-

By the way, I noticed some typos and inconsistencies on the previous chapters so I revised it a bit. (don't worry the changes I made doesn't affect the story line)

I can't promise that I'd update soon, but I'll try. Thank you for your patience. I appreciate you reading this even after such a long time.

Please review! xoxo Elle.


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